Skip to content

Category: Archives

The full collection of explorations.

Love Is Something Only Mastered In Moments

Published on July 9, 2021

Love is not something that is mastered in but one moment.

To have mastered something is to imply its completion—and love is never “done.”

To masterfully craft a loving moment is as much a completed gift as it is an understanding that a new gift will need to be crafted in the next.

Otherwise, as all gifts eventually do, its warmth and shine will slowly fade.

And not because the gift that you masterfully crafted wasn’t good enough, but because of the eventual overwhelm of the following moments when no gift is crafted at all.

Love needs to be renewed.

And fortunately, there is an inextinguishable source of love inside each of us that we can draw from. That we can use to masterfully craft another loving gift in this moment and the next.

Be it a sincere compliment, a warm embrace, a chivalrous gesture, a thoughtful note, a compassionate ear, an intimate night free from distraction, or a “just because” gift when the opportunity is there.

Love is not something we can state in one moment and be done stating forevermore.

It’s not an act that is completed that will cover you forevermore.

Love is something only mastered in moments—and it will always be the case now and forevermore.

The Antithesis Of Freedom

Published on July 8, 2021

Our busyness is often our enemy; it is the antithesis of freedom.

Freedom is the feeling we get when we’re not busy.

And most of what we spend our days being busy about (e.g. acquiring wealth) is really supposed to be a means for acquiring freedom. The freedom to live life on our own terms.

But, what if the means was in direct opposition to the end goal? What if our work kept us from living on our own terms at all?

Here’s the thing, this is not a call to quit your job and/or shed all of your responsibilities that keep you busy. Rather, it’s a call to carefully reevaluate what it is exactly that you’re so busy with and how it connects to your freedom.

  • If family came to visit from out of town during your work week, would you be able see them? Or would you be too busy?
  • If a good friend was in trouble and asked you for coffee, would you be able to meet them? Or would you be too busy?
  • If your favorite band was playing a concert near you, but it was during a work weekend, would you have the freedom to go see them? Or would you be too busy?

Sometimes we sacrifice doing what we want to do with work because we know it will lead to more future freedom. But, what are you securing future freedom for if you’re sacrificing all of your top priorities now?

I Believe In You

Published on July 7, 2021

“I believe in you.” Is the water to the planted seed.

Disbelief, in all its forms, is the desert heat that stunts the seed’s growth.

People tend to perform in proportion to how much (or how little) people believe in them.

Their seeds are there, maybe all they need is some watering—from you.

Don’t Ignore Your Call(s) For Humanity

Published on July 6, 2021

We need to see the suffering in the world so that we can respond with compassion.

As in, we can’t turn a blind eye; we can’t hide in our cocoons of comfort; we can’t ignore our calls for humanity.

I reiterate: we need to see the suffering.

Otherwise, there will be no emotional reason for us to have any kind of response.

Emotion is triggered through experience. The closer the experience, the deeper the emotional feel. And the deeper the emotional feel, the more compassionate the response (I would hope).

We need to be the compassion for others that we so desperately wish was there for us (and our loved ones) when we were suffering.

And if you and your loved ones haven’t suffered all that much, then you are exactly the type of person who can stand to help others the most.

Open your eyes up to the world around you.

And respond with compassion.

The Best Seed Collector

Published on July 5, 2021

Idea gathering is addicting. It’s motivating. It’s exciting.

…It does nothing for you.

Gathering ideas is about as useful as gathering seeds—and I’m not talking about the kind you can eat.

Most of us have an incredible store of seeds that are doing nothing more than taking up space. And yet, what so many of us continue to do is carry on collecting more seeds for our store.

For what? Why? Because you want bigger ones? So you can collect them all? This isn’t Pokémon.

The thing about seeds is that they’re wildly inexpensive and abundant—like ideas. But, even just one seed planted and cared for well, can lead to something valuable. Certainly more valuable than the seed itself.

And it’s in the process of nurturing seeds and bringing plants to life where you learn the most and get the biggest return on your invested time anyway—not from seed collecting.

So, before you go searching for other seeds to collect, how about you plant and begin cultivating some of the seeds you already have?

What if, instead of being a well known collector of inexpensive seeds, you became a well known grower of increasingly valuable plants?

We Fear What We Don’t Understand

Published on July 3, 2021

My dog will BARK and YELL and RAGE and fearlessly advance towards even the most vicious looking dogs.

But, pops, cracks, and whizzes from the fridge?

Terrified. Whimpers. Needs to be held.

These noises, of course, don’t scare us because we understand them.

But, failure, aloneness, suffering?

Leaves most of us terrified, whimpering, and feeling like we need to be held.

Maybe it’s the case that these things aren’t inherently scary, but we’re just scared of them because we don’t fully understand them.

Maybe if we spent more time learning how to fail forward, enjoy aloneness, and channel our suffering—we wouldn’t be so scared?

Things become less scary once we understand them.

This post became the introduction for: 13 Rousing Delia Owens Quotes from Where The Crawdads Sing on Abandonment, Love, and Self-Reliance

Knowing It All Is Bad For Connection

Published on July 2, 2021

Not having it all figured out is an excellent place to come from when connecting with people.

Because here’s the thing: neither does anybody else.

Too many people forget this.

Figuring things out together is a magnet for connection.

It allows for reciprocity. It allows for synergy and exchange. It allows for healing and growth.

And, what’s more, is that it will help you figure things out faster than trying (waiting) alone ever will.